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658 grene. From this illness he never recovered. He published "United States Circuit Court Reports" (3 vols., Boston, 1869).

CLIFTON, William, poet, b. in Philadelphia, Pa., in 1772; d. in December, 1799. His father was a wealthy Quaker. Owing to his delicate health, all ideas of an active life were abandoned, and he found consolation and employment in litera- ture, and became proficient in music and drawing. He was fond of field sports, and soon relinquished the Quaker garb. During the excitement produced by Jay's treaty, Clifton used his pen in support of the administration, conti-ibuting to the newspapers many satires in prose and verse. The longest of these productions was entitled " The Group," in which various mechanics and tradesmen are repre- sented as meeting for a discussion upon topics be- yond their depth respecting politics and the state. The coarse material of Jacobinism, which is riot disguised, is occasionally elevated by the polish of the verse. " The Rhapsody on the Times" is an- other production of the same character, but written to the measure of " Hudibras." In his poem, the " Chimeriad," which was left unfinished, he boldly personifies, in the character of the witch Chimera, the false philosophy then reigning in France. He also wrote an epistle to Gifford, which was pub- lished anonymously in the first American edition of Gilford's poems. One of his best papers is a pre- tended French manuscript, in prose and verse, de- scribing the descent of Talleyrand into hell. His poems were collected and published after his death, with " Introductory Notes of his Life and Charac- ter " (New York, 1800).

CLINCH, Charles Powell, author, b. in New York city, 20 Oct., 1797 ; d. there, 16 Dec, 1880. He was the son of a wealthy ship-chandler, and was educated in New York. In early life he be- came the secretary of Henry Eekford, an eminent ship-builder of the metropolis, at whose country residence, a short distance from the city, he met Halleck, Drake, and others of the Knickerbocker school. For many years Mr. Clinch was an edi- torial writer for the press, and a literary and dra- matic critic. He also wrote numerous poems, the- atrical addresses. and plays, includ ing " The Spy," "The Expelled Col- legians," and " The First of May," the last of which was produced at the Broadway theatre. In 1835 he was elected a member of the state legis- lature, and during the same year the great fire in New York swept away his fortune, which had been invest- ed principally in insurance stocks. He then obtained a place in the New York custom- house, where his aptitude for the work was such that he was promoted to be deputy, and then assistant collector, which oifice he held until 1876, when he resigned after forty years of service, at the same time changing his place of residence from Staten Island to New York city. So sensitive was he of even a suspicion of partiality in the performance of his public duties that he never, under any circumstances, would give decisions in cases connected with the importations of his brother-in-law, Alexander T. Stewart. Mr. Clinch was one of the five intrusted with the secret of the authorship of " The Croakers " (see Halleck, Fitz-Greene), which appeared in the " Evening Post" during April and May, 1819. ' He was a great admirer of William Cullen Bryant, and wrote a poem to his memory, which, with a short bio- graphical sketch, appears in Gen. Wilson's " Bryant and Friends " (New York, 1886).

CLINCH, Duncan Lament, soldier, b. in Edge- combe county, N. C, 6 April, 1787 ; d. in Macon, Ga., 27 Nov., 1849. He vvas appointed first lieu- tenant in the 3d U. S. infantry on 1 July, 1808, and was gradually promoted until he became, on 20 April, 1819, colonel of the 8th infantry, and ten years later brevet brigadier-general. When the Seminole war began in Florida in 1835, Gen. Clinch was in command of that district. He commanded at the battle of Withlacoochee, 31 Dec, 1835, and displayed the most intrepid courage. In Septem- ber, 1836, he resigned his commission and settled on a plantation near St. Mary's, Ga. Subsequently he was elected as a whig to congress to fill the va- cancy caused by the death of John Millen, and served from 15 Feb., 1844, till 3 March, 1845. His daughter married Gen. Robert Anderson.

CLINGMAN, Thomas Lanier, senator, b. in Huntsville. N. C. 27 July, 1812; d. in Raleigh, N. C., 4 Nov., 1897. He was graduated at the University of North Carolina, after which he studied law and was elected a member of the legislature. He set- tled in Asheville, Buncombe co., N. C, in 1836, and was sent to the state senate in 1840. Later he was elected as a whig to congress, and served con- tinuously from 4 Dec, 1843, till 14 June, 1858, with the exception of the 29th congress. During his long career in the house, extending over thir- teen years, he participated in nearly all of the im- portant debates, and as chairman of the committee on foreign affairs acquitted himself with ability. His first week in congress was marked by an en- counter with Henry A. Wise, of Virginia, in which he displayed great readiness and self-possession. His speech against the so-called •'21st rule" was extensively published, and his reply to Duncan's " coon speech " made a decided impression. Later his speech on the causes of Henry Clay's defeat led to a duel between himself and William L. Yancey, of Alabama. He also made important speeches on the slavery question, on Gen. Scott's conduct in Mexico, the tariff, against commercial restrictions, on mediation in the eastern war, Texas debts, British policy in Cuba, and especially against the Clayton and Bulwer treaty. It is said that while a' member of congress he attended every day's session of the house without a single excep- tion. He was originally a whig, but subsequently joined the democratic party. In 1858, on the ap- pointment of Asa Biggs as U. S. judge for the dis- trict of North Carolina, Mr. Clingman was selected by the governor of that state to fill the vacancy in the senate, and subsequently elected for six years after 4 March, 1861 ; but he withdrew with the southern members on 21 Jan., 1861. In May of that year he was sent as a commissioner to the Confederate congress, to give assurances that North Carolina woidd co-operate with the Confed- erate states, and was invited to participate in the discussions of that body. In July he was expelled from the U. S. senate with those who neglected to send in their resignations. He entered the Confed- erate army as colonel, and on 17 May, 1862, was